


What the River Knows

by Daxolotl



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Frozen 2 (2019) Spoilers, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Guilt, Heavy Angst, Survivor Guilt, anna dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-04
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:01:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21665608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daxolotl/pseuds/Daxolotl
Summary: Elsa and Anna promised that they'd do this together.Elsa was the one who broke that promise, first.
Relationships: Anna & Elsa (Disney)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 81





	What the River Knows

_Where the north wind meets the sea  
There's a river full of memory  
Sleep, my darling, safe and sound  
For in this river all is found_

Elsa sits atop the elemental of water, victorious, as the waves part and ebb away from Arendelle.

They did it.

 _Anna_ did it.

Anna got her message, and destroyed the dam. Anna saved her, and she saved Arendelle.

She freed the elementals.

Elsa smiles, slow and sure, and runs her fingers through the watery mane of her steed. "Back to the Forest," she whispers, and they're riding forth.

Back to Anna.

_In her waters, deep and true,  
Lie the answers and a path for you_

The forest looks beautiful with the sky open and clear. Free of the blanket of fog and clouds covering its beauty, it's...it's free. 

Elsa can't help but smile as she rides ever-closer.

The journey had been worth it. Every step, every stumble. Even pushing Anna away, to protect her...

She hopes Anna isn't too mad at her for that. It was...it had to be done. There was no way Anna would've been able to survive the trip through the ocean. It had almost killed Elsa before she'd tamed the spirit beneath her.

Breaking their promise had been the right thing to do.

Elsa sees a figure at the shoreline, and her smile widens. Anna, no doubt, seeing her in the distance and come to meet her at the shore.

It's only as she gets closer that her smile begins to falter.

It isn't Anna.

It's Lieutenant Mattias.

Something's wrong.

Fear grips Elsa's heart like a vice, and she urges her steed forth. Faster. Further. She needs to reach Mattias, and find out what's happened - find out where Anna is. Because every moment she's out here, her fears grow. She starts to think the worst. What if she's hurt? What if she's angry? What if...

She reaches the shore, and practically leaps from the water spirit.

"Your Highness..." Mattias says, and his voice cracks.

"Lieutenant, where's Anna?" She tries to keep the panic from her words, but it doesn't work. She's never been good at hiding her emotions where Anna is concerned.

"She...your Highness, she didn't..." He swallows, hard.

No. 

No, no, no no no.

He can't mean what she thinks she means. He can't.

...He just can't.

"She provoked the Earth Giants into attacking the dam. She told us you'd given your life. And when they started to hit it, she just...she just _stood_ there."

Elsa doesn't move. She doesn't breathe. Frost grows over her fingertips, and she just...stands there. "Mattias. Where is my sister."

His chin quivers. "...She's gone."

No.

God, no.

He can't be telling the truth. He must be lying, like Hans was. There's no way...she _can't_ be gone. 

Elsa drops to her knees. Mattias staggers backwards as frost begins to spread out around her. Ice, jagged and spiked and harsh. Cold.

They promised each other...they promised each other they'd stay together. They _promised._

...And Elsa was the one who broke that promise first.

Elsa was the one who left Anna alone.

It's all her fault.

Something inside Elsa breaks, shattering and cracking in the cold grip of grief like a wire or an icicle or a fragile heart. She wails, loud and harsh, and the pain floods through her. She cries, and weeps, and curls into herself as the ice grows around her like a razor-sharp cocoon. Until it's just her. Like submerging herself in water, or locking herself in a room. 

She mourns for her sister. The sister she killed.

And winter comes to the Northuldra.

_Dive down deep into her sound,  
But not too far or you'll be drowned_


End file.
